Vigilance is imparative, perfection impossible

We had Hannah's 6 week check up on Wednesday this week, at the McNeeley Pediatric Diabetes Clinic in St Paul. It's actually been 7 weeks already since diagnosis. It seems like it was just yesterday, although I realize we have come a long way since then, but it's all still so new to us.
Hannah and diabetes is a reality, a reality of our current lives and forever. We pray nightly for a cure and hope in the years to come to be more involved in the JDRF.

We are still in the process of learning. We had our last scheduled diabetes education class on Wed, which was on the topic of Pattern Management. Which in other words is teaching us the steps to follow to adjust Hannah's doses on our own. Up until now we've had to call the clinic with adjustments each time. It will take some practice and some more learning how to do this, but I believe we now have the steps to make the decisions on our own, but always have the support of the doctors and nurses.
Hannah is really doing well as far as her blood sugar levels, we finally seem to have a good dose for the time being. Although it can change in an instant as she changes and adjusts to different situations in life. Diabetes is never the same every day, our goal is to keep her blood sugar in her target range as often as possible. Vigilance is imparative, but perfection is impossible.
She has gained another pound, and is up to 49 lbs and has grown almost an inch in a few months. She was down to 42 lbs at the time of diagnosis, so she has come a long way in a short time.
Everything seems to be going along, and each day we deal with it, we do what needs to be done. Some days are better, some are hard, some are just plain overwhelming.
How do you deal with the emotions of a 7 yr old, plus your own emotions? We try to put in all in perspective and move on.

Hannah is still struggling to take it all in, but then as I think of us doing this routine, which seems like we've been doing it all forever now, I realize it's only been less than 2 months, and I may be expecting too much from her. She is very interested in seeing other kids with diabetes, and watching and learning about diabetes from the websites online. There is a site with videos of other kids and she loved watching them and how they deal with diabetes....she can really relate to them. All those kids have had diabetes for a few years or have the pump, etc, and she is facianated by them and how far they've come with dealing with it, but then she realizes she is not at that point yet. There was a video of a 4 yr old girl who was bascily doing it all, testing her blood sugar, and getting her pump site ready, and such. Hannah has been off and on with helping me with everything. One day she'll be all excited to be the grown up and set it all up and other days not so much.
She has taken another step though in her care and has been loading the test strip with her blood. Soon I bet she will be able to poke her finger.

The insulin shots are always a stalling tactic yet. It takes her like 10 min to get ready for the shot(s). The alcohol wipe we apply to her leg has to dry first, so she makes that take as long as possible, then she has to "get ready", by usually having her blanket snuggled up close, and will most likely whine until it's all over, even if it doesn't hurt. Soemtimes it will hurt a little more, but other times she will say that didnt' even hurt, but whines beforehand nonetheless.

We have to get her a little out of her routine at some point, because as of now will only take her insulin in her right thigh, it's how it always has been done and I almost wish they would have tried different spots in the hospital, because now she is so comfortable with the leg, she will not think of trying the back of her arm, butt, or tummy. We watched videos of kids getting the insulin in the arm, and tummy, and it looks so much easier, esp., when she gets to the point of doing it herself or possibly getting the pump in the future, which most likely will go on her tummy. The pump, which she is not interested in yet, probably because she doesn't know much about it yet, will elminate all the injections, as she can bolus herself or we can with the push of a button. The pump site would need to be changed weekly, but one poke would be better than 30-40 injections in a week. I'm kinda looking forward to that for her. But for now we just have to watch her leg/thigh, so she doesn't get red lumps or fat build up from overuse of the same spot, we try not to hit the exact same spot each time and move it around, but her leg is only so big.

Hannah is still in a strong "honeymoon phase", as they call it. Her pancreas is still producing insulin to some degree, in the reamining beta cells in her body, it helps her body out some, and right now is on very low doses of insulin because of that. As the months pass those cells will die out leaving her pancreas and the cells non-insulin producing at all. The honeymoon phase can last a few weeks up to a year. There is no test to determine how long this will last. We know Hannah is in this phase by her relatively low insulin amounts needed right now.

Hannah is doing well physically, emotionally we still have some things to work out with her....she can be so happy and loving at one point, but then some days, and this may just be Hannah, but she can be so crabby about something so simple, like having to dress herself can throw her into a angry fit, or listening to instructions from me, will bring her to a mad frustration instantly. There have been a few handfuls of situations we've had to deal with her, that have seemed to escalate from her typical whiney self and now adding diabetes to her life hasn't helped. I pray that this is just still so new to her and it will get better soon.

We are all done at the St Paul location for now, as they also have a clinic in Minnetonka off 494 which is a little closer for us to go, so on April 2, we will have her 1st 3 month doctor visit with the endocrinologist at Children's West. They will also test her A1C level for the first time since diagnosis, which back then it was over 10%. It will be tested every 3 months for accurate blood suagar levels over the previous 3 months. It is recommended that the % be 6.5-7%, so that will be our goal over her life now.

Things will get a little hectic again as we will be planning and enjoying a week in Mexcio soon !! I hope we can find some time to relax and have fun, but I suspect that this vacation will have it's share of stress and frustration as well.
Still looking forward to the memories, however they play out.

motivation

Are you interested in your goals, or are you fully committed? One of the most common complaints among goal setters nowadays is that there’s just not enough time to get to the ones that “really matter.” The real culprit is that most people don’t raise their goals beyond the level of general interest. They’re waiting for a vague time in the future when other things won’t get in the way or when they wrap things up. In other words, when it’s more convenient. And of course, that time never comes, does it? If your goals are truly that important to you, don’t let anything stand in your way. You have the power to say ‘no’ and to set your priorities. Make that commitment and you automatically create an obligation that you’re bound to fulfill.

Team Captian for a week

Bailey had a great hockey scrimmage on Sunday, which I was unable to attend because I had to work. So from what others have said....
They played River Lakes, which is a team they have played a few times already this year....we tend to scrimmage them alot for some game practice. It has always been some close games againest them.
Bailey apparently had a great game, and the team played well together... although we gave up 3 goals, Bailey came through and scored the game winning goal in the 3rd period for a 4-3 finish. I'm so glad the team was able to pull off a win in the final period, something they struggle with...they get nervous and usually end up loosing. I am really impressed with Bailey's increasing confidence this year, and hopefully they do just as well againest Delano on Saturday. Bailey has been given the big "C" to wear this week, as they pick a different kid to be captian after each game for the week until the next game. WAY TO GO LDC!!

I'll get a pic on here of his captian status as soon as I get one. :)

wart... be gone

Ok... now we do have some wart treatment going on. Nancy, my mother in law, who is a medical assistant at a skin care clinic, has given Hannah the wart treatment that will hopefully get rid of the nasty wart. I decided not to call the diabetes clinic, because they would probably want to see it, and driving to St Paul is not a good option right now, and second even if they didn't have to see it, they would probably have something in mind to RX, and we have no insurance right now. So I'm greatful for my mother in law for just bringing over a sample vial of what the doctor at her clinic recommends for kids with diabetes. We are trying Canthnacur, it's a liquid that is applied to the wart, once now for 4 hours and then her foot is washed with soap and water, and then it is applied again for about 6 hours in about 14 days....maybe sooner, we'll see how her wart reacts to the medication. It may blister, but hopefully it's not too bad, and we'll need to scrape away the dead skin...ewwwwe.
This, along with the other medications I had bought, say not to use on diabetics, mostly refering to older adults with poor circulation in their feet. I was assured that it would be ok to use on Hannah, and the skin care Dr. also said those pads I bought would also be ok to use on her, but might not take care of the wart entirely and it could come back or produce more of them.
So I am fairly confident that this product will work, her foot may become more sore though, before it gets better.
WART..............BE GONE !!!! I wish it was that simple.

hmmmm..... a wart

Felt uneasy using the wart remover product, in which the bandaid fell off this morning, so only had the product on for about 12 hours. It's changed it's appearance to more of a white color, so will leave it alone until I can be certain what to do or use and will check in to her diabetes clinic on Monday to see what I'm supposed to do.
.................................................
UPDATE ON THE WART--I bought another product that says it's safe for kids, but still says not to use if diabetic/have poor circulation. I just felt better about the safe for kids label and figured she doesn't have poor circulation or sores that are hard to heal....yet.
But then after getting this product home, it is the freezing the wart off kind (which I knew), but after reading those instructions, I don't think Hannah would go for this type of treatment at all--sounds like it might hurt, and even to the point of causing a sore or blister. I guess with diabetics with poor circulation and sores that take longer to heal, this may not be the best way to go either, not knowing how her foot will react, plus she would never let me freeze it.
I decided a little too late to call the diabetes clinic, as they were closed already at 4:30 when I tried to call about my dumb question.

I was just goona leave it alone until Hannah then wanted to try the "bandaids", so we put one on tonight and we'll keep an eye on it closely. Supposed to keep it on for 2 days, and keep changing it, and will deal with the situation as it comes. I'll see how it is on Monday and probably call the clinic to see what else we can do. Otherwise we go back on Wed the 21st for an appt. so I can ask then too I guess. Just seems so silly of a thing to be dealing with right now.

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Not the best of topics to write about...LOL.
Hannah has seemed to develop a wart on the bottom of her foot. Hmmmm, at least that is what it looks like to me. She has actually had this "bump" on her foot for a few months, we've been keeping an eye on it. It is now to the point of sort of bothering her, as she brings it up more and more to look at it.
Of course I would touch it, and evaluate it every time. So I finally went an bought these bandaid type things that have some medicine in it to get rid of the ugly wart.

Now is not the time to start researching warts....I brought the box home and started reading the instructions on the back. It has warnings of NOT to use if you are diabetic. So there I sit with the box of wart remover bandaids, and it tells me not to use them on her. First of all why didn't I read the box, before choosing the perfect wart remover...but then again why would I, I am buying wart remover, not sugar or carbs.
So then I go online to find out WHY I cannot use this product on my diabetic daughter, and really didn't get an answer, but did find out that maybe this product should not even be used on kids. So I will search on maybe getting another over the counter product that I can use on a diabetic child. Hannah insists that I find a product to be able to use, and she also will not use the ones I already bought, because she trusts when it says not to use on a diabetic, not to use it, even though I'm still questioning why. Anyone know??

Also I read online that warts are a virus (I did not know this, or maybe I did, but forgot). They are contagious!!! and not to touch them, because they can spread easily. Needless to say Hannah or I haven't touched her wart since I found out, hopefully it's not too late. I also found out her wart is called a Planter's wart, being that it's on her foot. If I can't find something to use on her foot, maybe we'll go to the Dr to find out the options, as it is getting sore to walk. I did read online that warts can be left alone and will most likely dissappear in 6 mo to a few years...but I'm not sure she wants to wait that long, esp. if it will hurt worse before going away.

I remember having 2-3 warts on my hands when I was a teenager. I think they probably were spreading from touching them, now that I think about it. I got rid of my warts by a old fashioned way that my great grandmother told me works!! Rub a potato on it several times a day. By golly!! It did work after a few weeks I think it only took. So that may be my option with Hannah, to avoid the doctor.

A bunch of hockey games, HE SHOOTS! HE SCORES! and a tough loss

BAILEY # 24


BAILEY #24-- he has the puck and he's off...

Bailey and 'dad' had a busy hockey weekend. I was able to attend 2 of the 5 games he had this past weekend. They were in a tournament in Paynesville and had a game Friday night, but I had to suddenly work at the desk, last minute for a girl that was sick. They won that 1st game vs River Lakes 3-1. On Saturday they had another tournament game and they played really well together vs St Peter, and dominated the game. Bailey even had 2 goals, which was real cool. Goals don't come easy for Bailey at this level, so it was neat to see some of his confidence come out during that game and he really looked good, as did the entire team. I wish it would have been a little more competitive, but the kids skated hard and won 9-2. We went out for lunch as a team after, and I just bearly made it home to change and leave right away for work. Getting our lunch took forever,about an hour..... as 2 other teams were at this bar/restaurant eating lunch and they were SO busy.

Later that day they had a home game vs Mound-Westonka, in some very bad weather the kids from Mound made it to Litchfield. There was freezing rain and then a few hours of snow, which made for some very bad roads later on. I hope they all made it home safe. I know I drove 30 miles an hour coming home from work that night.
The team lost to Mound, 2-8, not sure how that game went, maybe the kids were tired,
but most likely Mound is just a bit better team as they have been in the past.

Sunday then, they went back to play the last tournament game in Paynesville and lost to Alexandria 1-5. Alex was a bit better again, and LDC just couldn't pull it together.
Later on Sunday they came back to play a home game vs Sartell, which I made it to before work again. That was the most exciting game of them all....the kids came out and showed alot of energy and agressiveness in the 1st period. I thought they'd be pretty worn out by now, being this was the 5th game played in 3 days.
They scored 3 goals in the 1st period, including one by Bailey--YEAH!!! The kids were pumped!! The 2nd period showed it's effects, and they lost their lead and Sartell tied it up 3-3 by the end of the 2nd. LDC was nervous now, and they don't know how to handle close games well at all. They didn't fight to win, instead they became sloppy, not playing positions, not passing like they did in the 1st, they lost all confidence....and at this age confidence in their ability is what seems to matter the most...playing positions helps too. It was a game they should have won.....and actually we thought it would be a tie....until Sartell scored with less than a second left in the game...literally...after they scored the clock stopped at 0.09...not even a second left. The kids were devistated, the goalie felt aweful, although, it is never entirely the goalies fault, our kids were just struggling in the end to get the puck out of their zone. It was amazing. Of course Sartell was estatic....and LDC was all in shock. We have to be strong for our boys though, and assured them it was a good game...although Bailey didn't care and even had tears forming....it's a tough loss.
He came home in sort of a depression, and laid on the couch all covered up....he snapped out of it pretty quick, but those games are tough on them.
I am so proud of him either way and he scored 3 GOALS !!! He played awesome. I like the games where he isn't so hesitant, and his confidence soars.

Hannah's story in the local newspaper.

http://www.herald-journal.com/archives/2008/stories/emery-diabetes-dassel.html